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The amount of advanced technology that goes into today's premium branded car tyres is often not appreciated. Tyres, after all, are usually a distress purchase and to most consumers are simply "black and round".
Tyre technology, however is continuously evolving, driven to a high degree by the technical demands of the vehicle manufacturers but also, to a degree, by the requirements of an increasingly demanding aftermarket.
Tyre performance can be affected by three tread compound - by changes to the tyre structure, by altering the tread pattern and by varying the rubber compounds used in the tyre, particularly in the tread. It is not surprising to see that the leading tyre manufacturers have a variety of proprietary technologies covering all these areas.
Take Bridgestone for example. Currently,the jordan 13, the world's largest tyre manufacturer lists 14 key technologies covering, casing,jordan 13 low, tread pattern design and compounding. Some of these, such as the use of unidirectional tread patterns, silica compounds and rim guards to protect against kerbing damage are commonplace but some are unique to Bridgestone. Examples of the kind of technologies highlighted by Bridgestone are:
Diamond Bead - A new construction method for the bead coil, which increases the torsional stiffness of the bead coil to create a more uniform contact patch and therefore improved handling.
Flat Force Block - A new tread block design, which varies the angle of the block edges in accordance with their size. This provides a more uniform contact pressure and therefore a smoother ride.
Key Hole Sipes - These narrow slots in the tread increase in width as the tyre wears helping the tyre to maintain performance as it gets older.
Multicell Compound - An advanced and unique foam rubber based compound, the high porosity of which anables water absorption and an increased "edge-effect" to improve grip on ice.
Riblet - These are circumferential micro-grooves located on the surface of multicell compound tyres. These aborb a film of water on icy surfaces for improved grip when the tyres are new and before the multicell pores become visible.